As an alternative to the traditional terrycloth towel, which promotes frizz, try a microfiber towel; the material is softer and helps to promote sleek strands.
3. Dry Your Hair Thoroughly
“Straightening damp hair is the fastest path to damage,” says Moroccanoil Artistic Director Cassie Siskovic. By making sure your hair is completely dry before applying direct heat to your hair, you’ll help avoid blistering the hair cuticle—just make sure to add a heat protectant before using a blow drier.
“Drying the hair from root to tip promotes shine, style longevity, and hair health,” explains Siskovic. “Roots dictate style structure. If they’re damp or frizzy, the entire look falls apart.”
Siskovic explains that you should direct the air downward from the start, which can help smooth the cuticle and help give your hair a more reflective, glass-like finish. She adds that the ends of your hair are the most fragile, so drying them last helps minimize exposure and prevent split ends and dullness. For those with naturally curly hair, she recommends applying a smoothing lotion, like this one from Moroccanoil, for added prep.
Another option is to rough dry your hair. Potempa suggests rough drying (which is a technical term for shaking the dryer back and forth over the head) until it’s 80% finished if you have naturally straight hair. “But it’s important to keep the nozzle facing downwards the entire time, otherwise the hair will frizz,” she notes. The next 20% is up to you. You can apply your product then let it air dry, or blow it out completely for more direction and shape.
4. Use the Right Brush
Angelone says one of the biggest mistakes people make when straightening their hair is not smoothing it properly beforehand. “If you don’t smooth it with a blow dryer and get the coil of the curl out, it will never lay silk straight, ” she explains. She recommends using a boar bristle and nylon mix brush for extra smoothness and polish. “The boar bristle will give great tension and assure your curls to loosen the best they can before you go in with hot tools.”
Emi Jay
Mini Boar Bristle Brush in Pink Sugar
5. Use Heat Protectant
Almost all of the hairstylists we spoke to emphasized the importance of using a heat protectant on your hair to help prevent unnecessary damage. Celebrity hairstylist Alex Pardoe, who has worked with the likes of Lindsey Lohan, Camila Cabello, and Paris Hilton recommends using a heat protectant like this one from Oribe, to help protect your hair from sizzling in the flat iron. Siskovic adds that heat protectant of any kind helps create a barrier between the hair and the too and doesn’t include ingredients that will melt or burn like waxes and oils.
6. Monitor Your Temperature
“Too much heat isn’t more effective—it’s just more damaging,” says Siskovic. She says this is one of the major mistakes a lot of people make when straightening their hair at home. Instead of using the highest setting, adjust the heat to your hair type. For fine texture or color-treated hair, 280 to 320°F is recommended. Those with medium texture can go up to 325 through 375°F and those with coarse texture can go up to 420°F max.
7. Take It One Section at a Time
“You shouldn’t be randomly grabbing fistfuls of hair,” says Potempa. “The iron won’t be able to get to pieces that are too thick, and you don’t want to unnecessarily reapply heat.” Instead, she suggests creating sections so you can easily track your progress. The smaller the sections, the better. Pardoe recommends gliding over each predetermined section as slowly as possible for straighter, shinier results.
Amazon
Fsmiling Hair Clip 3-Pack
8. Always Hold Your Hair Taut
If you keep your hair sections pulled tautly, they’ll need fewer pass-throughs with the flat iron (and fewer passes mean less damage, of course). Passing over hair with the iron more than once won’t kill the hair, but you shouldn’t need to do it as much if you’re pulling your hair and creating tension. “Tension is essential,” stylist Harry Josh notes. “Create your tension, then pull the iron downward starting from the root.” Obviously, curly styles will find it necessary to pull, straighten, and repeat a few times, but pulling the hair taut while you straighten will help immensely.
9. Add Finishing Products to Reduce Frizz and Add Shine
If you have the kind of hair that may frizz or curl up, finishing products are your friends, not your enemies. “A light hold hairspray is a good idea,” Potempa says. “But it’s best to wait for the hair to cool down first. Think about spraying a hot pan—it’ll sizzle and steam. Your hair will do the same thing.”
